3 Marketing Mistakes Coaches Make

The coaches, consultants and service professionals I work with are a special breed.

They are multi-passionate, multi-talented, and have a creative streak in them that makes stuffing themselves into the “usual” marketing box not only frustrating but also the cause of patchy results.

They face a unique set of challenges, which leads to 3 common mistakes they tend to make in marketing their businesses – whether they are just starting out, or have been in business for a while but just can’t seem to hit the bull’s eye.

Mistake #1 – Lack Cohesive Message

For those creative spirits, they are bursting with new ideas all the time.
Most coaches are always learning and improving themselves, adding new skills and tools to their arsenal.
All of these are great – when new ideas, skills, tools and experiences come together, alchemy and magic happens.
However, if they don’t have a way to communicate all these with a cohesive message, they often appear like a Jack-of-all-trades.
When they lack focus about their expertise and niche, they have a tendency to go on and on and on when talking about what they do for their clients… until their readers/audience/potential clients just glaze over.

Fix it:
Find the golden thread that ties all your conviction, superpowers, passions, talents, experience and skills so you can weave them into ONE cohesive message that is unique to YOU. Side effect – you will stand out and make competition a non-issue.

Mistake #2 – Failure To Connect

Many coaches I work with do really well when they are making connections in person. However, when it comes to written marketing materials, they hit a wall.
Their copy and content not only fail to make a meaningful connection with their ideal clients, but also miss the mark in connecting THEM with their life’s work.
What I mean is, when they say those “marketing communication” out loud (e.g. an “elevator pitch” kind of thing), they don’t feel connected with the words.
The communications do not strike a cord for THEM, resulting in misaligned energy, and lack of excitement that do not serve in attracting ideal clients.
Instead, they constantly worry if they are “saying it right,” putting a break on fully expressing their personality and conviction.
Moreover, they have taken trainings and programs, and sitting on a bunch of templates and checklists that led them to using generic words too superficial to connect with their audience personally and emotionally.
They stifled their own voice, trying to sound “right.”
They use buzzwords or jargons that are devoid of meaning and make them sound like everyone else.
They stuff themselves into the copywriting box because of their fears of not being good enough, of being criticized/judged (which leads to conformity) and that of missing out.

Fix it:
Get personal, get emotional.
Find the words that make YOU tick. Get into the psyche of your ideal clients to understand what they need to know in order to work with you.

Mistake #3 – A Me-Too Marketing Plan

We take trainings and programs with the good intention to further our businesses.
But so often we grab a strategy here and a tactic there, then string them together without considering how they come together holistically and synergistically so they talk to each other and put us in the best light possible.
Even worst, we sound like a schizo from one platform to the next.
As a result, I see many coaches doing a lot of busywork and chasing bright shiny objects… wasting time, energy and money.
They got themselves into marketing activities that don’t tap into their genius, or executing tactics that don’t resonate with their value.
The misaligned energy behind the actions is not attractive to clients, and the fact that they are dragging their feet just sour the whole perception about marketing.

Fix it:
Having a plan is good for business.
Instead of getting caught in the “how it should look like,” consider how your plan is going help YOU cut the busywork and do want truly matters.